Article sales data processing apparatus and sales data editing method

ABSTRACT

According to one embodiment, an article sales data processing apparatus includes a display unit which displays a registration screen, and a control unit which displays an editing screen for sales data of an article selected from among articles sold in one transaction on the display unit, the editing screen including an image of each of an undo button, a unit price change button, a number of items change button, and a discount button.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Division of application Ser. No. 12/819,525 filedJun. 21, 2010; the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated byreference.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2009-169176, filed Jul. 17, 2009; theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to an article sales dataprocessing apparatus such as a point-of-sales (POS) terminal whichprocesses sales data of articles purchased by customers.

BACKGROUND

In a conventional POS terminal, when an article code of an articlepurchased by a customer is inputted, sales data of this article isregistered in a memory. However, at this time, the registration of thesales data is not finalized yet. Therefore, editing of the sales datasuch as undo or discount is possible.

When a next article code is inputted or a subtotal key is operated toinput a subtotal, the registration of the sales data is finalized. Thesales data cannot be edited after the registration is finalized.Therefore, in the case of making a discount on an article for which theregistration of its sales data is finalized, a cashier first carries outan operation to undo the registered sales data. Next, the cashierregisters the sales data of this article again. Immediately after that,the cashier carries out an operation for discount.

In this manner, with the conventional article sales data processingapparatus, complicated operations are required in order to modify salesdata with its registration finalized. Solutions are demanded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer configuration of a POSterminal as an embodiment of an article sales data processing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of essential partsof the POS terminal.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a registration screen displayed on a touchpanel of the POS terminal.

FIG. 4 shows a principal memory area formed in a RAM of the POSterminal.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing procedures of article registrationexecuted by a CPU of the POS terminal.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing procedures of subtotaling executed by theCPU of the POS terminal.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing procedures of closing executed by the CPUof the POS terminal.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing procedures of touch input executed by theCPU of the POS terminal.

FIG. 9 shows an example of an editing screen displayed on the touchpanel of the POS terminal.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing details of data editing executed in aprocessing block of ACT 46 shown in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, according to one embodiment, an article sales dataprocessing apparatus includes a transaction storage unit, a displayunit, a list display control unit, a selection unit, a read-out unit, anediting acceptance unit, and an update unit. The transaction storageunit stores sales data of each article sold in one transaction. Thedisplay unit displays a registration screen including a details area.The list display control unit causes a list of articles sold in onetransaction to be displayed in the details area on the basis of thesales data stored in the transaction storage unit. The selection unitaccepts selection of an article, of the articles displayed in thedetails area. The read-out unit reads out the sales data of the articleselected by the selection unit, from the transaction storage unit. Theediting acceptance unit causes the display unit to display an editingscreen for the sales data read out from the transaction storage unit bythe read-out unit, and accepts editing of the sales data. When the salesdata displayed in the editing screen is edited, the update unit updatesthe sales data of the article selected by the selection unit, of thesales data of each article stored in the transaction storage unit, tothe edited data.

Hereinafter, as an embodiment of an article sales data processingapparatus, a case where the invention is applied to a POS terminal 1installed in a retail store will be described with reference to thedrawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer configuration of the POSterminal 1. The POS terminal 1 is placed on a drawer 2 for housing cashand the like and controls the opening and closing of the drawer 2.

The POS terminal 1 has a keyboard 3, a mode switch 4, a barcode scanner5, a touch panel display 6 for cashier (hereinafter referred to as touchpanel 6), a customer-side display device 7, a printer 8, and a receiptissue port 9.

On the keyboard 3, numeric keys to input numeric data, a subtotal key, acash key, a credit key, an undo key, a discount key, a clear key and thelike are arranged. The cash key is operated at the time of declaring theclosing of registration of one transaction with cash payment. The creditkey is operated at the time of declaring the closing of registration ofone transaction with credit card payment. The cash key, the credit keyand the like are called registration closing keys. The undo key isoperated at the time of declaring the undo of article sales data that isregistered immediately before. The discount key is operated at the timeof declaring a discount on an article or a discount from a subtotal thatis registered immediately before.

The mode switch 4 is for selecting from various operation modesincluding “registration”, “inspection” and “settlement” and commands aCPU 11 to execute the selected mode. The mode switch 4 is switched, forexample, by a key.

If the “registration” mode is selected, the POS terminal 1 mainlyexecutes the following operations.

1. An operation to register sales data of an article in the memory onthe basis of the article data inputted via the scanner 5 and an inputunit of the keyboard 3.

2. An operation to calculate and display the total amount based on salesdata of each article sold in one transaction.

3. An operation to calculate and display the difference between adeposit amount and the total amount, as the amount of change, when thedeposit amount is inputted from the input unit.

4. An operation to print, on a receipt sheet, the content of sales dataof each article sold in one transaction and thus issue a receipt.

The touch panel 6 and the customer-side display device 7 display thename of a registered article, the number of items sold, the amount ofsales, the total amount for one transaction, the deposit amount, theamount of change and the like.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a registration screen 60 displayed on thetouch panel 6. The registration screen 60 includes a current area 6 a, adetails area 6 b, and a total area 6 c. The current area 6 a is an areafor displaying the article name, the number of items sold and the amountof sales as the latest information of articles sold. The details area 6b is an area for displaying the article name, the number of items, theunit price, the discount amount, the amount of sales and the like, foreach article sold in one transaction. The total area 6 c is an area fordisplaying the total amount and the total number of items for eacharticle sold in one transaction.

The printer 8 is to print the details of one transaction on a receiptsheet and a journal sheet. The receipt sheet printed by the printer 8 isissued from the receipt issue port 9.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the principal configuration of the POSterminal 1. The POS terminal 1 has the CPU (central processing unit) 11as a control body. A ROM (read only memory) 12, a RAM (random accessmemory) 13, a clock unit 14, a communication interface 15, aninput-output port (I/O port) 16, a keyboard controller 17, a touch panelcontroller 18, a display controller 19, a printer controller 20 and ascanner interface 21 are connected to the CPU 11 via a bus line 22 suchas address bus or data bus.

The clock unit 14 measures the current date and time. The communicationinterface 15 carries out data communication with a store computerconnected via a network. The I/O port 16 inputs a signal from the modeswitch 4. The I/O port 16 also outputs a driving signal to a draweropening device 23 to open the drawer 2.

The keyboard controller 17 controls the keyboard 3 and takes in a keysignal corresponding to an operated key. The touch panel controller 18controls the touch panel 6 to display the registration screen 60 or thelike. The touch panel controller 18 takes in a position signal on thescreen operated by touch from the touch panel 6. The display controller19 controls the customer-side display device 7 to display informationfor the customer. The printer controller 20 controls the printer 8 toissue a receipt. The scanner interface 21 takes in a barcode signalscanned by the scanner 5.

In the POS terminal 1, a current buffer 31, a transaction buffer 32, atotal buffer 33, an editing buffer 34 and a flag memory 35 in the areaconfiguration shown in FIG. 4 are formed in the RAM 13.

The current buffer 31 temporarily stores the latest sales data ofarticles sold in one transaction. The transaction buffer 32 stores salesdata of each article sold in one transaction, in order of a series ofrecord numbers. The sales data include article code, article name, thenumber of items sold, unit price, discount amount, the amount of sales,and discount target flag. The discount target flag is “1” when anarticle identified by the corresponding article code is an article onwhich a discount is allowed.

The current buffer 31 functions as a temporary storage unit. Thetransaction buffer 32 functions as a transaction storage unit.

The total buffer 33 stores the total number of items and the totalamount in one transaction. The total number of items is a value acquiredby adding the number of items of the article sold, temporarily stored inthe current buffer 31, to the total of the number of items of eacharticle stored in the transaction buffer 32. The total amount is a valueacquired by adding the amount of sales of the article, temporarilystored in the current buffer 31, to the total of the amount of sales ofeach article stored in the transaction buffer 32.

The editing buffer 34 temporarily stores sales data of an articleselected as an editing target, from the sales data of each articlestored in the transaction buffer 32. The flag memory 35 stores aregistration-in-progress flag f1 and a subtotal flag f2.

If an article code is inputted via the keyboard 3 or the scanner 5 inthe state where the “registration” mode is selected by the mode switch4, the CPU 11 executes article registration according to the proceduresshown in the flowchart of FIG. 5. First, the CPU 11 checks theregistration-in-progress flag f1 (ACT 0). Before the first article ofone transaction is registered, the registration-in-progress flag f1 isset to “0”. As an article is registered, the registration-in-progressflag f1 is set to “1”.

If the registration-in-progress flag f1 is not set to “1” (NO in ACT 0),the CPU 11 executes the processing of ACT 1 to ACT 3. In ACT 1, the CPU11 resets a counter n to zero. In ACT 2, the CPU 11 clears the buffers31 to 34. In ACT 3, the CPU 11 sets the registration-in-progress flag f1to “1”.

If the registration-in-progress flag f1 is set to “1” (YES in ACT 0),the CPU 11 executes the processing of ACT 4 to ACT 5. In ACT 4, the CPU11 increments the counter n by “1”. In ACT 5, the CPU 11 houses thesales data stored in the current buffer 31 into an n-th record area inthe transaction buffer 32. Here, “n” in the “n-th” coincides with thevalue of the counter n.

As the processing of ACT 3 or ACT 5 is finished, the CPU 11 executes theprocessing of ACT 6 to ACT 9. In ACT 6, the CPU 11 searches an articledata file in which article data including article name, unit price,discount target flag and the like are set, corresponding to the articlecode for identifying each article. Then, the CPU 11 takes in articledata that is set corresponding to an inputted article code. The articledata file is stored in the store computer. The article data may bedownloaded to the RAM 13 from the store computer.

In ACT 7, the CPU 11 multiplies the unit price of the article data bythe number of items sold and thus calculates the amount of sales. TheCPU 11 then creates sales data including article code, article name, thenumber of items sold, unit price, discount amount, the amount of salesand discount target flag, and writes the sales data in the currentbuffer 31. At this time, the discount amount is “0”.

In ACT 8, the CPU 11 causes the article name, the number of items soldand the amount of sales, of the sales data stored in the current buffer31, to be displayed in the current area 6 a of the registration screen60. In ACT 9, the CPU 11 causes the article name, the number of itemssold, the unit price, the discount amount and the amount of sales, ofeach sales data stored in the transaction buffer 32, to be displayed inthe details area 6 b of the registration screen 60. The CPU 11 alsocauses the total number of items and the total amount stored in thetotal buffer 33 to be displayed in the total area 6 c.

The CPU 11 repeats the processing according to the procedures shown inthe flowchart of FIG. 5 every time an article code is inputted.

Here, in the CPU 11, a processing unit 111 is formed which, if the salesdata of articles sold in one transaction are inputted, houses the salesdata stored in the current buffer 31 into the transaction buffer 32 andregisters the inputted sales data in the current buffer 31 through theprocessing of ACT 5 to ACT 7.

In the CPU 11, there is also a latest display control unit 112 whichcauses the sales data stored in the current buffer 31 to be displayed inthe current area 6 a, which is different from the details area 6 b ofthe registration screen 60, through the processing of ACT 8.

In the CPU 11, there is also a list display control unit 113 whichdisplays a list of articles sold in one transaction in the details area6 b on the basis of the sales data stored in the transaction buffer 32through the processing of ACT 9.

If the undo key is inputted after the processing of ACT 9, the CPU 11clears the data in the current buffer 31. Therefore, a value acquired bysubtracting the data in the current buffer 31 from the total value isrestored as the data stored in the total buffer 33.

Similarly, if the discount key is inputted after the processing of ACT9, the CPU 11 checks the discount target flag in the current buffer 31.If an article on which a discount is not allowed is registeredimmediately before, the discount target flag is “0”. At this time, theCPU 11 determines that the input of the discount key is an error.

Meanwhile, if an article on which a discount is allowed is registeredimmediately before, the discount target flag is “1”. At this time, theCPU 11 accepts the input of the discount amount. As the discount amountis inputted via numeric keys, the CPU 11 stores that discount amount inthe current buffer 31. The CPU 11 also updates the amount of sales inthe current buffer 31 to a value acquired as a result of subtracting thediscount amount. At this time, the total amount data in the total buffer33 is also updated to the amount after the discount.

If the subtotal key is inputted in the state where the “registration”mode is selected, the CPU 11 executes subtotaling according to theprocedures shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6. First, the CPU 11 checksthe registration-in-progress flag f1 (ACT 20). If theregistration-in-progress f1 is not set to “1” (NO in ACT 20), it isdetermined that the input of the subtotal key is an error.

If the registration-in-progress f1 is set to “1” (YES in ACT 20), theCPU 11 executes the processing of ACT 21 to ACT 24. In ACT 21, the CPU11 increments the counter n by “1”. In ACT 22, the CPU 11 houses thesales data stored in the current buffer 31 into an n-th record area ofthe transaction buffer 32. In ACT 23, the CPU 11 causes thecustomer-side display device 7 to display the total mount stored in thetotal buffer 33. In ACT 24, the subtotal flag f2 is set to “1”.

If the cash key is inputted in the state where the “registration” modeis selected, the CPU 11 executes closing according to the proceduresshown in the flowchart of FIG. 7. First, the CPU 11 checks the subtotalflag f2 (ACT 30). If the subtotal flag f2 is not set to “1” (NO in ACT30), it is determined that the input of the cash key is an error.

If the subtotal flag f2 is set to “1” (YES in ACT 30), the CPU 11executes the processing of ACT 31 to ACT 34. In ACT 31, the CPU 11calculates change and causes each of the touch panel 6 and thecustomer-side display device 7 to display the amount of change. In ACT32, the CPU 11 creates receipt print data based on the content of thetransaction buffer 32 and outputs the receipt print data to the printer8 to issue a receipt. In ACT 33, the CPU 11 outputs a driving signal tothe drawer opening device 23 from the I/O port 16 and thus causes thedrawer 2 to open. In ACT 34, the CPU 11 resets theregistration-in-progress flag f1 and the subtotal flag f2 to “0”.

If the touch panel 6 is operated by touch in the state where the“registration” mode is selected, the CPU 11 executes touch inputaccording to the procedures shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8. First, theCPU 11 checks the registration-in-progress f1 (ACT 40). If theregistration-in-progress f1 is not set to “1” (NO in ACT 40), the CPU 11ignores the input from the touch panel 6.

If the registration-in-progress f1 is set to “1” (YES in ACT 40), theCPU 11 determines whether the touched site is within the details area 6b of the registration screen 60 or not (ACT 41). If any of the areasoutside the details area 6 b is touched (NO in ACT 41), the CPU 11ignores the input from the touch panel 6.

If the details area 6 b is touched (YES in ACT 41), the CPU 11 executesthe processing of ACT 42 to ACT 44. In ACT 42, the CPU 11 recognizes arecord number k of sales data displayed at the touched site, on thebasis of coordinate data of the touched position on the screen andlayout data of the registration screen 60.

In ACT 43, the CPU 11 reads out the sales data corresponding to therecord number k from the transaction buffer 32 and writes the read-outsales data into the editing buffer 34. In ACT 44, the CPU 11 creates anediting screen 70 based on the sales data housed in the editing buffer34 and causes the touch panel 6 to display this editing screen 70.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the editing screen 70. The editing screen 70includes an article name area 71, a number of items area 72, a unitprice area 73, a discount area 74 and an amount area 75, and an undobutton 76, a unit price change button 77, a number of items changebutton 78, a discount button 79 and a cancel button 80. The data storedin the editing buffer 34 is displayed in the areas 71 to 75.

Here, in the CPU 11, there is a selection unit 114 which accepts theselection of an article from the articles displayed in the details area6 b through the processing of ACT 40 to ACT 42. There is also a read-outunit 115 which reads out the sales data of the article selected by theselection unit 114 from the transaction buffer 32 through the processingof ACT 43. There is also an editing acceptance unit 116 which causes thetouch panel 6 to display the editing screen 70 for the sales data readout from the transaction buffer 32 by the read-out unit 115 and acceptsthe editing of the sales data through the processing of ACT 44.

As the editing screen 70 is displayed, the CPU 11 waits for the touchpanel 6 to be operated by touch again (ACT 45). When the touch panel 6is operated by touch, the CPU 11 executes the editing of sales datacorresponding to the touched position (ACT 46).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing details of the procedures of the editing.First, the CPU 11 determines whether the touched site is any of thedisplay areas 72 to 74 corresponding to entries that can be edited, thatis, the number of items, the unit price, and the discount amount (ACT 51to ACT 53). If the touched site is none of these display areas (NO inall of ACT 51 to ACT 53), the CPU 11 determines whether the touched siteis any of the display areas of the buttons 76 to 80 (ACT 54 to ACT 58).If the touched site is none of the display areas of the buttons 76 to 80(NO in all ACT 54 to ACT 58), the CPU 11 waits for a next touchoperation.

If the number of items area is touched (YES in ACT 51), or if the numberof items change button 78 is touched (YES in ACT 55), the CPU 11 changesthe number of items sold, of the sales data stored in the editing buffer34, to a numeric value inputted via numeric keys. Moreover, the amountof this sales data is changed to a value that is acquired by multiplyingthe unit price by the changed number of items sold and then subtractingthe discount amount from the resulting value (ACT 59). After that, thek-th record in the transaction buffer 32 is overwritten with the salesdata stored in the editing buffer 34 (ACT 63).

If the unit price area 73 is touched (YES in ACT 52), or if the unitprice change button 77 is touched (YES in ACT 54), the CPU 11 changesthe unit price included in the sales data stored in the editing buffer34 to a numeric value inputted via numeric keys. Moreover, the amount ofthis sales data is changed to a value that is acquired by multiplyingthe changed unit price by the number of items sold and then subtractingthe discount amount from the resulting value (ACT 60). After that, thek-th record in the transaction buffer 32 is overwritten with the salesdata stored in the editing buffer 34 (ACT 63).

If the discount area 74 is touched (YES in ACT 53), or if the discountbutton 79 is touched (YES in ACT 56), the CPU 11 checks the discounttarget flag included in the sales data stored in the editing buffer 34(ACT 61). If the discount target flag is reset to “0” (NO in ACT 61),the CPU 11 ignores the touch input.

If the discount target flag is set to “1” (YES in ACT 61), the CPU 11changes the discount amount included in the sales data stored in theediting buffer 34 to a numeric value inputted via numeric keys.Moreover, the amount of this sales data is changed to a value that isacquired by subtracting the changed discount amount (ACT 62). Afterthat, the k-th record in the transaction buffer 32 is overwritten withthe sales data stored in the editing buffer 34 (ACT 63).

If the undo button 76 is touched (YES in ACT 57), the CPU 11 deletes thesales data that is the k-th record in the transaction buffer 32.Moreover, the number and amount corresponding to the deleted sales dataare subtracted from the total number of items and the total amountdisplayed in the total area 6 c of the registration screen 60 (ACT 64).After that, the sales data stored in the editing buffer 34 is cleared(ACT 65).

If the cancel button 80 is touched (YES in ACT 58), the CPU 11 clearsthe sales data stored in the editing buffer 34 (ACT 65).

As the editing buffer 34 is cleared, the editing is finished. When theediting is finished, the CPU 11 erases the editing screen 70 (ACT 47).

Here, in the CPU 11, there is an update unit 117 which, when the salesdata displayed on the editing screen 70 is edited, updates the salesdata of the article selected by the selection unit 114, of the salesdata of articles stored in the transaction buffer 32, to the edited datathrough the processing of ACT 63.

The functions of the processing unit 111, the latest display controlunit 112, the list display control unit 113, the selection unit 114, theread-out unit 115, the editing acceptance unit 116 and the update unit117 provided in the CPU 11 are realized by a program stored in the ROM12.

In this manner, the POS terminal 1 according to this embodiment canexecute editing including undo, unit price change, and discount not onlyfor the sales data of an article that is registered immediately before,displayed in the current area 6 a of the registration screen 60, butalso for the sales data of an article with its registration finalized,displayed in the details area 6 b.

Moreover, simply by touch-operating an area within the details area 6 bwhere the sales data of an editing target is displayed, it is possibleto select the sale data of this editing target. Also, since the editingscreen 70 is displayed and the sales data can be edited on this screen,the operation required is very simple.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiment in its describedform. In practice, components of the embodiment can be modified withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

For example, in the embodiment, the editing screen 70 may be displayedby overlapping on the registration screen 60. Alternatively, it is alsopossible to temporarily erase the registration screen 60 and display theediting screen 70, and then display the registration screen 60 again oncompletion of the editing.

In the embodiment, the discount is described as an example of the dataediting. However, if a mechanism to input a discount rate instead of adiscount amount is employed, it is possible to similarly cope with thecase where a discount on price is made at a predetermined rate.

In the embodiment, the case where the program is recorded in advance inthe ROM 12 is described. However, without being limited to thisembodiment, the program may be downloaded to the POS terminal 1 from anetwork or the program stored in a recording medium may be installed inthe POS terminal 1. The recording medium may be in any form of recordingmedium that can store a program and can be read by the apparatus, suchas CD-ROM. The functions acquired in advance by installation ordownloading may also be realized in cooperation with the OS (operatingsystem) or the like in the apparatus.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described hereinmay be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of theinventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intendedto cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope andspirit of the inventions.

What is claimed is:
 1. An article sales data processing apparatuscomprising: a display unit which displays a registration screen; and acontrol unit which displays an editing screen for sales data of anarticle selected from among articles sold in one transaction on thedisplay unit, wherein the editing screen includes an image of each of anundo button, a unit price change button, a number of items changebutton, and a discount button.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein whenthe undo button is pressed, the control unit is configured to delete thesales data of the selected article.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, whereinthe control unit is configured to recalculate an amount of sales of thearticles sold in one transaction after the sales data of the selectedarticle is deleted.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the unit pricechange button is pressed, the control unit is configured to change aunit price of the selected article.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, whereinthe control unit is configured to change the unit price of the selectedarticle to a value input after the unit price change button is pressed.6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the control unit is configured torecalculate an amount of sales of the selected article based on thechanged unit price after the unit price of the selected article ischanged.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein when the number of itemschange button is pressed, the control unit is configured to change thenumber of items sold of the selected article.
 8. The apparatus of claim7, wherein the control unit is configured to change the number of itemssold of the selected article to a value input after the number of itemschange button is pressed.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein thecontrol unit is configured to recalculate an amount of sales of theselected article based on the changed number of items sold after thenumber of items sold of the selected article is changed.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein when the discount button is pressed, thecontrol unit is configured to change a discount amount for the selectedarticle.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the control unit isconfigured to change the discount amount for the selected article to avalue input after the discount button is pressed.
 12. The apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the control unit is configured to recalculate anamount of sales of the selected article based on the changed discountamount after the discount amount for the selected article is changed.13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit further displaysan article name of the selected article on the editing screen.